Whale Rock Capital Management LLC Sells 572,118 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Whale Rock Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,398,303 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 572,118 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 5.6% of Whale Rock Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $397,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 7,224 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings in Alphabet by 3.8% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 1,655 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,663 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MKT Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 7,363 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total value of $291,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,529,987.28. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,802 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.47, for a total transaction of $2,780,226.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,280,514.53. The trade was a 27.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 198,623 shares of company stock worth $34,413,006 in the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $189.82 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $171.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.67. The stock has a market cap of $2.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $129.68 and a one year high of $195.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 10.61%.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.